


Season of the Witch

by egregarious



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Background Relationships, Established Relationship, F/F, Ladybug - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-05-28 15:49:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19397335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/egregarious/pseuds/egregarious
Summary: Its been several months since Ruby and Blake began working together to protect the city of Vale from the villains that threaten it.  In the meanwhile, their number of allies has grown, as have their enemies.  A new darkness is coming to the kingdom, more dangerous and sinister than any that has come before, and one that will put Ruby and Blake's relationship to the ultimate test.





	1. Welcome to the Family

**Author's Note:**

> This work is a direct sequel to another fic that I wrote called Black Cat Luck. Its not necessary to read the older story in order to understand this one, but if you're curious about this AU, or if you're like me and just want more ladybug content in your life, then you're welcome to check it out.
> 
> Either way, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

### Prelude

_When people talk about what happened on that blood-stained evening, they call it many names. Some who had the misfortune of living through that time call it the Night of Silenced Heroes, though that has failed to catch on in the history books. The academic types, the ones with more of an eye for such things, tend more towards calling it the Midnight War. Perhaps the most apt name is simply The Attack, though one might question the creativity behind it._

  
_But despite all our divisiveness, we do know that our enemies had only a single name for that night: The Bacchanal._

  
_Though many long years now divide us from the grim story of that April evening, it is few indeed who know everything, and fewer still who are willing to share. It is a story of champions deprived of their hallowed mission, of an old man who watches all from the safety of his tower, and of a witch living in decayed and rotten decadence._

  
_But to understand all of that, we must first tell the story of the heroes whose actions were at the very heart of the matter, and to whom we placed all our trust…_

### Chapter One: Welcome to the Family – March 30th, Early Morning

Springtime had come to Patch. It had rained the night before and the island seemed somehow more alive than usual, with colors showing their brightest hues and dew hanging from every blade of grass. The air was filled with the soft loam of the soil, carried on an unseasonably warm breeze from up off the ocean. Many of the trees on the island were already in full bloom, with the sweet smell of dogwood and lilac and magnolia clearly indicating the ever-forward march of the seasons.

  
As the old, beat-up taxicab made its way down an even older dirt road, avoiding potholes and overly brave squirrels in equal measure, its occupants passed by sights that had defined life on the island for generations. With the only paved parking lot stood the Patch General Store, whose rusted-out sign had its own historical marker. For as long as anyone could remember, it had been run by a man named David Jacobson, who introduced himself to all the children of the island as Good Kind David, the oldest man alive, who was having a most excellent one hundred and seventy-first birthday, thank you very much.

  
Just a few yards away was the Island Meadery, run by the same family for over a hundred years. Next door to it was an attached pub that remained the only establishment on the island allowed to sell alcohol in open containers, though a few enterprising, would-be bar owners had been fighting the city council to change that fact for years. At the edge of town was the field behind ol’ Miss Fairbanks’ house, covered in equal abundance by wildflowers and weeds. On the hot, June days of her youth, Ruby would come to that field with her sister and father to pick dandelions, bringing them home in wicker baskets to be pressed into wine and stored in the dark of the cellar. In the cold and dreary January’s thereafter, they would break a bottle open and Ruby would find herself filled with the unmistakable breath of Summer.

  
By far the largest structure on Patch was Fort Inverness, whose stately, weathered walls looked out on a world much different than the one that required the building of such fortifications. In fact, the fort had been decommissioned centuries ago, when the last of the creatures of Grimm had been pushed to extinction by the heroic huntsmen and huntresses of yore. The only part that remained in use was the central tower which was originally intended as a means to spot the aquatic Grimm which sometimes threatened the kingdom from their homes in the inky blackness of the ocean’s depths. Today however, it continued its stalwart service to the people of Vale as a lighthouse, warning both airships and their water-based cousins of the cliffs that formed the Northwestern edge of Patch.

  
Aside from the old fort, the majority of the buildings on the island were clustered together near the main dock which faced directly toward the mainland. But barely a quarter mile away, the forest seemed to stretch on all the way to the ocean cliffs on the far side, uninterrupted but for a handful of houses and wooden fences set well back from the road. This place seemed far removed from the hustle and bustle of Vale, yet every inch of the island had its place in the halcyon land of memories.

  
On the seaward edge of the island, near the end of the dirt road which connected the citizens of Patch from North to South, and down a long, well-kept driveway, stood the Xiao-Long-Rose home. At first glance, it appeared a modest, wooden building of squat design with a chimney that leaned ever so slightly to one side, but closer inspection revealed that every inch of the structure and surrounding property had been treated with care and appreciation. Young trees and bushes had been planted between the old-growth hardwoods; whose stately boughs watched over the land with the wisdom that only comes from the long ardor of the ages. Daffodils and carnations and violets outlined the gravel path from the driveway to the front door which itself was flanked by sunflowers of prodigious height, each smiling towards the midmorning sun. Behind the house was a garden of no mean size filled with raspberries, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, green onions, strawberries, and basil; each carefully labelled and arranged in rich, dark soil. And as for the house itself, all the windows had been immaculately cleaned and the front door proudly sported a fresh coat of paint. The eves and gutters were cleared of fallen leaves, pinecones, and all the other various detritus that seems part and parcel of forest living. Even the little tool shed behind the main building had new shingles atop its angled roof.

  
With a loud hum of its engine, the taxicab began the long journey back to town, and the four women who had been its most recent passengers stood together in the dirt driveway, stretching out their legs and shoulders to the sound of nearby birdsong. Yang was the first to make a noise, a yawn dripping with relief at finally being released from the tight confines of the back seat of the taxi, Ruby and Weiss joining her with their own murmurs of satisfaction. Standing by herself and as far away from the house as she could was Blake, her shoulders hunched in silence underneath her black bomber jacket.

  
“Hey,” Ruby said as she sidled up next to her girlfriend. Over the past few months, she had learned that although Blake was always quiet, her silences could mean very different things. Sometimes, silence meant contentment, the quiet happiness of hot tea on a rainy day. Other times it meant melancholy, the soundless assault of ancient regrets and lost memories. In this particular instance however, the slight bunch of her brow and tightness in the lower corners of her jaw could mean nothing but nervousness. Reaching down, Ruby laced her fingers through Blake’s, raising them once more to place a gentle kiss on the back of her girlfriend’s hand. “You’re gonna do fine. There’s no need to worry over some old guy in cargo shorts.”

  
“I know, its just…well…” Blake raised her other hand to the pair of feline ears atop her head, changing course at the very last moment to push a strand of hair back into place. “Introductions can be a…challenge sometimes.”

  
“Oh please, our dad is like, the biggest push-over in the world, there’s no way you can screw this up,” Yang added, still rolling her neck to get the stiffness out.

  
“Just remember, Yang and I will offer to do the dishes afterwards so that’ll give you and Ruby an opening to talk to him,” Weiss said before giving her roommate a reassuring smile. “These two are absolutely correct by the way, their father might be the nicest man in all of Remnant. And if he’s managed to deal with all our nonsense over the years, there’s no way he won’t be able to deal with yours.”

  
“Wow, that was _almost_ nice,” Yang said with a grin. “Is the Ice Queen thawing out after all this time?”

  
Weiss responded with a heavy slap to her roommate’s arm.

  
“Well I guess that answers that question…”

  
Blake managed a chuckle at her two friends as they glared at each other from across the driveway, a little less nervous and a little more confident than she had been a moment before.

  
“Yeah, he’s a big softie underneath all the intense Cool Dad thing he’s got going on,” Ruby said. “And you don’t have to worry about the gay deal either, Yang and I have both brought home girls before, or just girl in my case, so you don’t have to worry about coming out baggage. And as for your ears…well, there’s a reason I said you don’t need to wear a hat, but if he does say anything bad about the Faunus, Yang and I will kick his butt for being a prejudiced jerk for you.”

  
“I know, I know, we’ve talked about this, and I do want to meet him, it’s just…a little more difficult now that we’re actually here.”

  
“Babe, you deal with way scarier stuff than my dad all the time, and besides, I’ll be there for you the whole time.”

  
“Thanks, Ruby,” Blake said with a smile, leaning over and kissing her forehead. “It’s not like he can be much worse than Montag.”

  
“See, you’re doing better already!”

  
With a final squeeze, Ruby dropped her girlfriend’s hand, giving her a playful hip bump as the four made their way to the front door. Blake shot back a grin as she returned the favor with a bump of her own. With Weiss giving them both a roll of her eyes and Yang winking supportively to her sister, the four stood just outside the doorway, only having to wait a few seconds before its occupant burst through.

  
Though not an exceptionally large man, or even particularly tall, Taiyang had a way of filling up every space he chose to inhabit. Whether it was his incessant energy, beaming smile, infectious laugh, or some combination of the three, he always seemed to make the space around him a little happier. As soon as he saw his two daughters, he threw his arms around them in a massive bear hug, calling out their nicknames as he lovingly crushed them. “Tianlong! Xiao Yingxiong! I’m so glad you two are home!”

  
Yang, for her part, gave as good as she got, embracing her father with all her considerable strength. Ruby, on the other hand, was struggling to squeeze air into her lungs. “Please…Dad…crushing…can’t breathe…”

  
“Oh, sorry,” he said as he released them. “I’m just so happy to see you two again! I know it’s a bit of a trip, but you know I’d love to see you more often!”

  
“Yeah, sorry pops,” Yang replied while her younger sister doubled over beside her, panting strenuously.

  
“And of course, that goes for you too, Weiss,” he said, offering her a much more restrained hug. “You’re always welcome to stop by whenever you want.”

  
“It’s wonderful to see you as well, Tai. If you’re cooking is even half as good as it was the last time I was here, that’s a very compelling offer.”

  
“Oho! I’ll have to work extra hard on lunch then! Speaking of which, I got some new coffee from the store the other day, and I’ve been dying to get your opinion on it. I think it’s pretty great, but I mean, you’re the expert here.

  
“But first,” he said, extending his hand to the fourth woman on his doorstep. “You must be Blake. I’ve heard a lot about you over scroll, but it’s so nice to finally meet you!”

  
“You as well, Mr. Xiao-Long,” she replied, shaking his hand.

  
“Please, Taiyang is fine, or just Tai if you want. I get called mister enough at work, and I refuse to answer to that in my own dang house.”

  
“No problem…Taiyang.”

  
“That’s the spirit! You wouldn’t believe how long it took your friend Weiss over here to call me anything other than sir. But enough of that nonsense, welcome to Patch! I hope the drive over here wasn’t too bad, I know the main road needs a bit of work. Anyways…come on inside girls, you can leave your coats anywhere, I’m not picky!”

  
As the four roommates walked inside the first thing to hit them was the incredible smell coming from the kitchen. Taiyang had apparently already started work on lunch and without even tasting it yet, the food seemed heavenly. The second thing that hit them was the overwhelming sense of being welcomed into a space that felt like home.

  
Much like the exterior, the inside of the house had been well-taken care of in a way that spoke to the pride that its occupant had in it. The furniture was old and weathered, yet spotlessly clean and covered with keepsakes, used books, potted plants, and all the other odd bits of kitsch and homely desiderata that always seem to accumulate over the years. Finger paintings from neighbors’ children shared magnets with Ruby and Yang’s yearbook photos on the fridge, their graduation pictures held in homemade frames on the wall next to the tv. Due to how warm the weather had been that day, some of the windows near the back of the house had been opened, the fresh breeze bringing in the scent of flowering plants as well as Zwei’s occasional bark and growl at a passing squirrel. The mantel above the fireplace was practically bristling with family photos from across the years, some even dating back to when Ruby and Yang were still in preschool. In the dining room, the wooden table had been stretched to its full capacity with its mismatched set of chairs speaking to the number of guests that had come for lunch.

  
With the bewitching scent of cooking food in the air and appetites running high, the four friends made quick work of setting the table and helped Tai finish the last few tasks that needed doing in the kitchen. The food was an odd, yet somehow sensible mixture of typical Vale cuisine and recipes from Taiyang’s youth, passed down from parent to child in the Xiao-Long family since time out of mind. There were roasted potatoes with rich, homemade gravy, freshly baked biscuits smothered in butter made from goat’s milk, aged mead made from the honey of local bees, red wine from the mainland, fried okra, collard greens, and heirloom tomatoes from the garden out back. Interspersed between them were pork dumplings with black vinegar and chili sauce, zhájiàng noodles which shared colored bowls with soybean paste and bean sprouts, steamed oysters, and wan dou huang arranged in the shape of flowers for dessert.

  
After the main meal came coffee and tea, an excuse to chat amiably over the hot beverages. Weiss and Tai both drank their coffee black, arguing good-naturedly over the pros and cons of using a press versus a drip filter. Ruby, as usual, filled hers with nigh unholy amounts of milk and sugar, earning her a disapproving glance from her white-haired friend. Blake and Yang both went for tea, a delightful variant of Oolong finished off by just a couple drops of honey. The food had been excellent and the company even better, so it was hardly a surprise that what had begun as an early lunch lasted well into the afternoon. After having successfully deflected several of Taiyang’s question about what she did for a living, Blake closed her eyes, savoring the moment with the warm mug between her hands, the gentle breeze coming from an opened window, and the sound of Ruby’s excited ramblings as she caught her father up to date on all the excitements of college life. She knew that the moment of truth was coming soon, when she would have to have a long conversation with her host, yet somehow, she didn’t feel half as nervous as she had in the driveway.

  
Of course, there was an element of guilt in deliberately hiding what she did for a living from her girlfriend’s father, but as personally meaningful as she found her work to be, vigilantism did have its downsides. Her finances, however, were nothing to scoff at, the government of Vale paid good money to anyone who fought the various supervillains that occasionally threatened the peace of the kingdom, even those vigilantes who worked as far outside the system as she did. In truth, her relationship with the Federal Bureau of Restraint’s parahuman division, had been surprisingly cordial when considering how well-known her alter-ego’s connection to the White Fang was.

  
That being said, Blake was still quite cautious about revealing any of this to Taiyang. Telling him that his daughter was dating a woman and a Faunus felt difficult enough, the fact that she previously worked for a widely hated terrorist organization and paid her bills with money from the FBR weren’t exactly first impression material. But for now, her worries felt a long way away, as she listened to her girlfriend talking about the latest developments in the technician program she was a part of.

  
Beacon University was among the first colleges in the world to offer classes that focused on developing technologies directly related to powered individuals, with a heavy focus on the distinctive suits many wore into combat. These so-called technicians were quickly welcomed into the hero community and widely considered one of the key components to the modern understanding of superheroes. This even led them to becoming one of the four different classifications of parahumans, despite many having no special powers whatsoever.

  
Due to her unique drive and talent in the subject, Ruby had been recruited into Beacon’s technician program the previous semester by its founder and coordinator, Dean Ozpin. With eyes sparkling with excitement and tongue moving at a mile a minute, she explained that she had officially been put on track to completing both her degree and technician certifications in a little over a year and a half. It was an impressive accomplishment for anyone, but especially someone as young as Ruby, so her excited demeanor could only partially be ascribed to the strength of Taiyang’s coffee. When the Dean first gave her the official confirmation, she had practically sprinted the entire way home to tell her roommates. For the entirety of the following week, Blake felt she was literally glowing with pride in her girlfriend, her face carrying a grin so wide that complete strangers on the street had come up to her asking why she seemed so happy. Taiyang looked to be feeling the same way with his beaming smile towards his daughter as she finished off her now cold coffee with a mighty gulp.

* * *

But like all good things, the coffee and tea and conversation came to an end, with contented sighs and full bellies being the only evidence of the meal they had partaken in. With a pointed glance at their roommates, Yang and Weiss insisted on doing the dishes, leaving the rest to find their way to comfortable chairs and couches in the living room. As the two young women settled down next to each other, Blake nodded silently to her girlfriend, giving her the signal that she was ready for the big moment.

  
“So umm, dad,” Ruby said. “There is one other thing I wanted to talk to you about. Maybe not as crazy as getting confirmed into the program, but it’s still…pretty important.”

  
“Mmhmm? You know you can talk to me about anything, sweetie.”

  
“Well…Blake is…I mean we…” Ruby cleared her throat and took her girlfriend’s hand, drawing confidence from that small connection. “The reason I was so adamant about Blake meeting you today, was to tell you that we’re…dating. She’s…really, really special to me and awesome and perfect and we’ve been together for a few months now, but there was never really a good time to just stop by in between classes and homework and the fact that coming to Patch is kind of an all-day thing and I think I’m kinda rambling now, so uhhh yeah, that’s what I wanted to say.”

  
“I’m not sure if its old-fashioned or not; I don’t exactly have a lot of experience with this kind of thing, but I wanted the first time we told you to be in person and not over a scroll. I…hope that’s okay with you,” Blake added.

  
Throughout all this, Taiyang had been completely silent, a smile creeping across his face as his daughter broke off onto a tangent with the new visitor in his house backing her up. “Yeah, I figured it was something like that.”

  
“Wait a minute, you knew? How?” Ruby stammered.

  
“Sorry if it’s a little personal, but your ears give it away,” he said while nodding towards Blake. “Whenever Ruby talks, they rotate towards her and they don’t do that for anyone else. I’m pretty sure it’s not something you’re doing on purpose so that tells me that you pay attention to what she says, even when you’re not actively trying to. And that tells me everything I need to know.” He winked towards his daughter, “it looks like your old man still has some tricks up his sleeve.

  
“Now, I’ve only known you for a few hours, Blake, but I like to think I’m a pretty good judge of character. I don’t exactly have a test for this kind of thing, but if I did, you’d pass.” He smiled at them, “I’m really happy for you both.”

  
“I appreciate that Mr. Xia- I mean, Taiyang,” Blake said, her relief showing in the corners of her lips.

  
“There you go! Scoring points already!” He let out a belly laugh and turned to Ruby. “Why don’t you go help out Weiss and your sister with the dishes. In the meantime, can I borrow your girlfriend if I promise not to give her the whole ‘if you hurt her, I have a shotgun’ talk?”

  
“Uhh, yeah,” Ruby replied, beaming from ear to ear, “I’ll just be in the other room.”

  
As his daughter left the room, Taiyang scratched the back of his neck and shook his head a few times before sighing. “Aaaahh, I never know what to say during these things. That’s what they don’t tell you about being a parent; you want to do your best for your kids, but ‘best’ is really freakin’ ambiguous sometimes.”

  
Blake nodded. “Sorry for putting you on the spot like this, but if it’s any consolation I have no idea what I’m doing either.”

  
“Hah! Blind leading the blind I guess.” He chuckled. “I at least have a little practice, but you said something about not having much experience, right?”

  
“Yeah, I’ve…moved around a lot in my life so getting this close to someone new isn’t something I’m used to. And my last relationship was…not very healthy. I’m doing my best with Ruby, but there are some things I just don’t know, and I’m sure I’ll make a few mistakes along the way. But I thought that meeting you was an important step, so I asked Ruby to introduce me; it felt like the right thing to do.”

  
“The fact that you can admit to not knowing everything is much more important than I think you realize,” he replied thoughtfully. “When I was your age, I was a damn fool, if you’ll pardon the language. I didn’t know the first thing about life or relationships or anything else for that matter, but still somehow believed that I could just power through everything with enough grit and blunt optimism. Its honestly a miracle I even made it through my twenties. I’m just glad I was a good enough father that my kids haven’t suffered the same mistakes I did.”

  
“Respectfully, I think I disagree with that,” Blake said, her brow knitting with sudden sincerity. “I don’t think ‘good enough’ covers what you’ve done for them. Ruby and Yang are both incredibly strong and kind people. They both care about others so deeply and are more willing to give without asking for anything in return than hardly anyone on Remnant. They stand up for others and are willing to do what’s right no matter what anyone else says. I mean, the most honest word I can use to describe them is…admirable.”

  
“Well you don’t need much to convince me! I’m their father, I already love them! And if what you’re saying is that I had even a little part in making them into the women they are today, then you’re paying me a very strong compliment.” He smiled warmly, “just make sure Ruby knows what you think about her. She’s the one who deserves to know how much you care.”

  
“I’ll do my best,” Blake replied, matching his smile.

  
Taiyang chuckled again before standing up and walking to the mantel, looking fondly at all the pictures of his family over the years. After thumbing through them for a moment, he picked one out and handed it to his guest. In it, Ruby, much younger and missing several of her front teeth, stood between her father and sister, smiling proudly as she held a piece of paper that read ‘Mathlete Champion – First Place’. “That picture was taken when she was in fourth grade,” he said. “They do these math competitions every year at Signal Academy, open to all students. It’s the only school on the island, so it covers preschool up to university. She was competing against people eight, nine, ten years older than her, and just absolutely destroyed them. There was nothing fair about it, they were all applying to college and worrying about acne and shaving, and she was still walking around with baby teeth. But none of that mattered. As soon as she got a problem in front of her, there was no way any of them could beat her. She won that competition nine years in a row; broke every record the school had.

  
“Even when she was just a little tyke, she could think circles around me, and I have twenty-five years on her! Ruby is, without a doubt, the smartest person I’ve ever met, which is another reason I’m not giving you a hard time.” He chuckled. “Over the years I’ve learned to trust her on just about everything. If she says something is correct, there’s no doubt in my mind that she’s right. And when she brings home someone and tells me she’s special, then what can I do but believe her?”

  
Blake smiled as he gave her the thumbs up and lightly clapped her on the shoulder. “I’m with you on that, Taiyang,” she said. “I looked at her homework one time and felt like I needed to lie down afterwards.”

  
“Hah! Exactly! Oh, what’s that phrase you kids are using these days, uhhh was it big mood? Is this a big mood?”

  
“Yeah, I think this qualifies.”

  
“Fantastic! I’ll have to tell Yang about this later, she’s been trying to get me to learn all the new slang.”

  
After another hearty laugh, Taiyang settled back in his chair as Blake continued to look at the picture he had handed her. Somewhere in between the gap-toothed smile and the half dozen hair clips, it was without question, the cutest picture she had ever seen. Blake took a discreet photo of it on her scroll for later, before walking to the mantel and putting it back in its proper place. As she walked back and forth in front of years of captured memories, she continued her conversation with Tai.

  
“I’m not sure if I should be telling you about this, but I was really nervous about meeting you today. There is…a lot of injustice, a lot of hatred in the world, and a disproportionate amount of it is pointed towards the Faunus, towards people like me. Full equality seems so far away sometimes, that trying to fix it feels like bashing your head against a wall, a wall that’s actively trying to take your basic rights of personhood away from you. And human-Faunus relationships are kind of a new concept in general, and that’s the nicest way to put it. Add on the fact that Ruby and I aren’t exactly the most _‘traditional’_ couple in the world, whatever that means, and you can probably guess why I was feeling nervous. Now, that may be unfair to you, and neither of your daughters gave me any reason to believe that you would be anything but open and gracious to me, but acceptance can be a big change for some people. I’m not condoning it, but even good people are capable of horrible actions when they’re presented with something they think is too different from their view of the world.”

  
When he finally replied, Taiyang spoke very slowly from his position in his armchair. “You’re right in thinking that I don’t know a whole lot about the Faunus, and I would never criticize you for being nervous around someone you’ve never met. Again, I don’t really know what the correct words are for this situation, but I want to give it the weight that it deserves. I’m also not going to make any sweeping moral generalizations; I think that would be both inappropriate and extremely patronizing toward the discrimination you’ve faced because of who you are. I also won’t pretend that I’ve been perfect all my life, or that I’ve always treated people in the way they deserve to be treated. But I will say that I accept every part of who you are, Blake, and maybe I can’t control the rest of the world or make up for anyone else’s cruelties, but in this house, you will never be treated as lesser due to who you are. I promise you that. And if I ever do mess up and say or do something wrong, don’t let that crap fly. Just let me know what’s what and I’ll fix it as fast as I can.”

  
“I’ll hold you to that, Tai,” she replied, smiling softly back at him.

  
He stood up and chuckled for a moment, breaking the tension in the air, before saying, “I do however, reserve the right to judge you for three things. One: how well you treat my daughter, which you’re doing great on so far. Two: how much you enjoy my cooking, and based on how fast you ate lunch, I’m pretty sure that won’t be a problem. And three: your skill in Checkers. It’s getting kinda late today, but the next time you stop by, I’ll challenge you to a game. Now,” he said, his face suddenly turning serious, “Blake Belladonna, do you accept the terms of this arrangement as they’ve been presented to you?”

  
“I do, Taiyang Xiao-Long,” she said, matching his serious tone.

  
The blond man’s face split into a wide grin as he once again clapped the young woman on the shoulder. “Then I think we’re gonna get along just fine.”

  
For a moment the two simply looked at the collection of pictures arrayed before them, and as Taiyang’s smile turned wistful, he picked out another from its well-dusted place. In it, a woman in her mid-twenties with long, dark hair smiled towards the camera. Holding onto one hand was a blonde girl with pigtails, and with the other she held an infant, swaddled in white cloth. “Has Ruby told you much about her mother?” he asked, handing the picture to Blake.

  
“Summer? She has, but I’ve never seen this picture before. They look so much alike,” she said, with obvious wonder in her voice. “From what I’ve heard about her, she was an incredible woman.”

  
“The best,” he replied. “I don’t think I’ve ever met a more passionate person in my life. Whenever she decided that something was worth doing, she would throw herself into it completely without any reservations or doubts. Whether it was her research or being a mother, she always had to dedicate a hundred percent of herself to doing it, just scraping by was never an option. I’m not the religious type or even that superstitious, but when I look back at our time together, it almost seems like she was aware of how short her time really was, and was trying to get a whole life’s worth of living done in the years she did have.”

  
“I would’ve loved to have met her sometime,” Blake replied, her eyes shifting back and forth from Tai to the picture of Summer in her hands.

  
“The next time you drop by, have Ruby show you to her, she’s not far away.”

  
“I’d like that.”

  
“Yeah, she’d appreciate it. I think Ruby would as well, now that I think about it.” He smiled again. “But not today though, you’ve been subjected to enough parent meeting for one afternoon, I’m sure. But uh,” he added, “one more thing if you don’t mind.”

  
“Sure.”

  
“I apologize if this is a little too forward, but if my life has taught me anything, it’s to treasure what you have while you have it, because everything has to end sometime, and goodbyes can come when you least expect them. Everyone that I care about, and by extension, who they care about, are family to me. That’s what really binds people together, not blood or a piece of paper. I mean, just look at Weiss’ dad if you want proof that being related doesn’t necessarily mean you’re family. What I’m trying to get at, is that I care about Weiss and my daughters more than anything else in my life, and if Ruby cares enough about you to call you her girlfriend, then what can I do but acknowledge it? What I’m trying to say, Blake…is welcome to the family.”


	2. Check out the Tech(nique)

### Chapter Two: Check out the Tech(nique) – April 6th, Dusk

As the economic, cultural, and political heart of the kingdom, the city of Vale was nothing less than a sprawling metropolis that millions of humans and Faunus called home. Its business district, the metropolitan heart of the city, cut an unforgettable skyline; the steel and glass spires neatly bisecting the endless ocean to the West, and the distant, green mountains which marked the Eastern border of the kingdom, themselves dwarfed by lonely Mount Erebus, far to the South. The residential boroughs were a quiet maze of brownstones, condos, and low-rise apartments, none more than a short walk away from one of the city’s hundreds of municipal parks. Famed around the world as the home of a bustling fish market and restaurant scene, the docks were the domain of the Vale Port Authority, which oversaw thousands of vessels and millions of tons of cargo every year. But for as much as the residents had embraced its identity as a beautiful place to live and one of the great tourist destinations of Remnant, the city still had its scars.

  
The industrial district, once the center of a vast and profitable manufacturing economy, had suffered immensely in the preceding decades, hemorrhaging workers and investment capital to the booming tech firms that littered the downtown area. Sprawling factories, textile mills, and refineries were shells of their former glory, nothing but broken windows and rusted out metal, tent cities popping up under the few roofs that remained intact. Great smokestacks, the iron men, the giants, hung precariously in the now-cluttered sky. The handful of buildings still in use were of a newer, brutalist construction, all concrete and pig iron, and generally dealt with utilities for the rest of the city: garbage incineration, sewage treatment, and the like.

  
With the last orange rays of daylight dipping beneath the horizon and the dull gray of twilight enveloping the city, three figures, each about thirty yards away from each other, could be seen leaping across rooftops at the edge of the industrial district. At a hand sign from the apparent leader, the three stopped moving, crouching low as their earpieces crackled to life.

  
“Alright, we’re coming up on the building where the call was made so that means we’re due for a comm-check. We’ll make these more routine in the future, but for now, just sound off and give us your status.”

  
“Damn do you sound professional over the radio. …. Oh yeah, uhhh, this is Dragon and I’m doin’ fine.”

  
“Frost checking in. Status is good. Suit is working under optimal parameters.”

  
“Oh wow, Ice Queen. You sound even more professional than Blake!”

  
“Yang, I swear I will-“

  
“Codenames.” The leader of the group sighed heavily, leaning back on her haunches. “I’m sorry. That was more brusque than I intended. That being said, we can never know if or who might be listening in on our conversations. As soon as we’re masks-on, we need to assume that someone is listening to us, and we need to keep our real identities as close to the chest as if we’re in front of the media. I know you two are new to this but saying something like that without thinking could mean the end of this team for good.”

  
“You’re right, I apologize for not thinking.”

  
“Yeah, I’m sorry too. Sorry about the Ice Queen thing as well, Frost, that wasn’t called for.”

  
“Good. Now, generally all we need for a comm-check is who you are, and if you’re experiencing any problems; the quicker you get that information across, the better. For example. This is Sable. Everything is looking good. That’s really all you need to say.

  
As the two figures nodded their assent in the evening twilight, a fourth voice crackled onto their earpieces. “Well, if you guys are done with lesson time, I should probably sound-off as well. This is Thorn, checking in. Crescent Rose is almost done powering up and I have a solid link to your suits’ cameras and body telemetry data. Everything’s looking A-Okay!”

  
With a sip from her half-empty bottle of soda, Ruby leaned back in her chair, watching the array of screens light up in front of her. Showing a variety of data streams from various points of collection including bodycam footage, radio signal strength, GPS location, heartrate monitors, police scanners, and half a dozen sensors placed throughout the team’s suits to measure their structural integrity, Crescent Rose was a wonder of computational power, and the undisputed informational hub for the team. Ruby had built it from scratch herself and was damn proud of how well it had earned its place among the supernatural powers of her fellow heroes. Despite not being able to fight directly alongside them, she knew that this was the best way she could offer support, no matter how nerve-wracking not being in the center of the action was.

  
Months before, when Blake had fought Montag inside that burning building, Ruby had felt fear unlike anything she had ever experienced in her life. She knew that trying to convince Blake to give up her life of danger and vigilante justice was impossible, and she could never physically protect her from the demigods she fought every night, yet just sitting by and waiting was equally unbearable.

  
Crescent Rose was the compromise she and Blake had come to. A command center of sorts, one which could monitor data in real time, and give her a direct link to the boots-on-the-ground heroes she supported. In a sense, she had become a hero herself, just one that needed a little extra tech. She had even given her computer a name in the same scheme as the suits she had made for the other team members, Crescent Rose, named after the half-circle the monitors formed around their rosy center.

  
“Copy that, Thorn,” Sable called out over the radio. “Give us the go ahead whenever everything’s up and running.”

  
“Yup. Just give me a few more seconds and I’ll be ready.” As the rest of the monitors sparked to life, Ruby began poring over the data coming through from each, making sure everything was just as it should be before giving the all-clear to the rest of the team. She could hear the subdued conversation on the other end of her headset, but only perked up when she heard her girlfriend use her name directly.

  
“Thorn, there’s something rubbing up against your radio. Are you…wearing my hoodie again?”

  
“Nope,” Ruby replied, adjusting her headset while absentmindedly picking lint out of what was most definitely Blake’s hoodie. Even if she couldn’t physically be beside her partner, she could at least feel snuggled into something that was undeniably hers, feel herself warmed by Blake’s smell all around her.

  
“Then if you’re not wearing it, I should find it hanging up in my closet once I get back, right?” Blake asked, emphasizing that she knew exactly what was happening on the other end of the radio.

  
“Oh absolutely, no question about it,” Ruby said, making a mental note on where to return it after the mission was completed.

  
Over the previous two months, Blake and Ruby had welcomed two new members into the team who were both still adjusting to their new potential. The process by which people obtained powers was still largely a mystery, with both the root cause of the supernatural abilities as well as why only certain people got them being complete unknowns. Having two roommates experience a sudden onset of powers within days of each other was certainly unusual but only for the sheer statistical improbability. Still, to say that it was a surprise for the four women that Yang and Weiss came into their powers within the same week would be an understatement for the ages. It was, to put it mildly, a trying time. But as the shock of sudden change gave way to banal reality, a new normal had established itself. Blake had begun teaching them how to control their newfound powers along with how to hide them from journalists and other prying eyes. As for Ruby, she had immediately started work on suit designs, making sure that if they ever found themselves in a situation in which the two were forced to fight, they would stand a better chance of coming out alive.

  
As luck would have it, both were quick to see the value in joining Blake and Ruby’s fledgling team of heroes, though their reasons for doing so were quite different. In their pitch for joining the team, Yang used a lot of words like ‘badass’ and ‘sexy’, while Weiss tended more towards ‘duty’ and ‘justice’. Nevertheless, the two were happily accepted, and Blake’s training regimen, which Yang insisted on calling ‘hero bootcamp’, had begun immediately after.

  
With her girlfriend getting the new recruits up to speed, Ruby started working on their suits in earnest. For her, it had been the best kind of challenge, a practical, immediately relevant problem whose solution would protect the people she cared about as well as benefit countless others they would save in their career as heroes. Considering the final outcome, she had every reason to feel proud of her newest creations.

  
Weiss, now using the codename ‘Frost’, had developed powers revolving around ice, manipulating it in its naturally occurring form, as well as creating it from the moisture in her environment. When designing her suit, that’s where Ruby knew she had to start.

  
From the ground up, the suit was based on withstanding freezing temperatures as well as handling ice at its most slick. For footwear, Ruby had made modifications to an already existing piece of technology designed to handle extreme cold: genuine, good-enough-for-McMurdo, Bunny Boots. Intended to protect its wearers from the far below zero conditions of arctic climates, they needed only minimal alterations in order to be used in the suit. Rougher tread along with some relatively unobtrusive spikes in the heel and toe areas, similar to those used in extreme weather hiking boots, were added to give their wearer more stability while walking on ice, something which Frost used regularly as a means of transportation. On top of the boot, layers of protective Kevlar were added which made the already weighty equipment even heavier, something which Ruby concluded was a necessary sacrifice. Besides, with Blake’s brutal workouts already in full swing, a little extra weight wasn’t such a big deal.

  
Tucked into the boots were the suit’s leg protections, tight-fitting pants divided into three distinct layers. The innermost layer, intended as cold prevention, was made up of a comfortable wool lining covered by synthetic insulation which provided defense against low temperatures, while cleverly disguised vents in the material allowed the fabric to breathe whenever Frost wasn’t actively using her powers. Sandwiched in the middle was a layer designed for a very different kind of protection. Long strips of Graphene mixed with more sections of Kevlar made sure that Frost had just as potent a defense against traditional weaponry. The outer layer consisted primarily of Durable Water Repellant, a kind of hydrophobic coating intended to keep inner sections dry, which was absolutely indispensable as wet clothing in freezing conditions is a recipe for hypothermia, which could be just as lethal as a violent supervillain. These protective layers went all the way up the legs and ended in a simple fastening around her natural waist, giving additional protection for her lower abdomen as well as being quite easy to get on and off in a hurry, especially compared to the full body suits preferred by some heroes.

  
On the torso, the suit consisted of something between a dress and a tabard, with the hem of the material resting a couple inches above the knee, but with slits up both sides to ensure a full range of motion. Weiss had worked closely with Ruby on the design of this section, making sure that it was up to her personal standards of fashion. In shape, it resembled an A-line dress, hugging her waist and flaring at the hips while giving enough room in the chest so as not to restrict her lungs in any way. The sleeves tapered elegantly to the wrist where they seamlessly met the gloves; intended more for gripping and cold protection than punching, their design was based on driving gloves and included a rough layer of pigskin leather in the palm as well as short spikes in the finger and thumb pads. As for the collar of the suit, it rested high on the throat like a turtleneck, around which sat a broken ring of white fur, circling the back of the neck and swooping down in two lines to her upper chest, mimicking both the hood of a heavy parka as well as the more traditional neckline of a dress. For material, its construction was almost identical to that of the pants, with separate layers used for weather protection, defense against conventional weapons, and a water repellant coating to protect from moisture.

  
Offensively, Frost had no need for extra firepower, as her innate abilities allowed for a wide variety of different utilities, the effective use of violence among them. That being said, her power was limited by the amount of moisture in the environment around her. Far inland and on a dry day, she would have precious little to work with. In order to combat this variability, Ruby had included a number of containers throughout the construction of the suit, each designed to hold water that could be used in a pinch. Not dissimilar to a CamelBak, these containers were littered across long bones and other areas that didn’t have nearby joints, with careful regard to the weight distribution remaining equal on all sides so as not to significantly change Frost’s center of gravity. If in a situation where spare water was hard to come by or nonexistent, she could pull from her own built-in supply to make sure her power always had enough fuel to be effective.

  
The mask was a complex affair, stylized to look like those worn by well-to-do socialites at a masquerade ball. It was an artistic conflagration of different patterns, each highlighted in an icy blue color which stood out against the pure white of the underlying material. Constructed from carbon fiber, it attached to a kind of circlet, itself jokingly named ‘the tiara’, which performed double duty as both a way of holding the mask in place and for keeping Weiss’ hair out of her face. For the sake of consistency, the rest of the suit was colored in the same manner, all stark white and cold blue. Intricately designed patterns outlined the ends of both sleeves and along the hemline of the top piece, each stylized bit of ornamentation giving the impression of something in between the elegance of a flower and the beautiful rigidity of ice under a microscope.

  
Square in the middle of her back sat a pure white snowflake, outlined in blue. In construction it referenced the Schnee house crest yet had just enough differences to protect the anonymity of the woman who had chosen to leave that family years ago. Maintaining the floral motif, and with Weiss’ blessing, Ruby had named the suit ‘Myrtenaster’ after a family of white flowers.

  
Yang’s power, on the other hand, presented a much different kind of challenge. When she activated her ability, she became what could easily be described as a living tank. Golden scales would sprout all over her body that were almost as hard as diamond, yet light enough not to present a significant hindrance to mobility. From just behind her temples, long, elegant horns swept back around her head, adding inches to her height and even more majesty to her silhouette. While active, her power also changed the chemical makeup of the adrenaline running through her body, supercharging her muscles to exponentially increase the amount of force she could exert, while simultaneously healing the microtears that formed within those muscles from extreme stress. In this form, she was practically invulnerable to conventional weaponry, and as they had discovered in an accident a few weeks before, more or less immune to extreme heat. Considering these abilities, it was hardly a surprise to her teammates when she chose ‘Dragon’ for the name of her alter-ego.

  
Unfortunately, her power also came with a massive downside. While this alternate form was formidable, it could only be maintained for short periods of time. After only about a minute, Yang would return to her everyday form and lose all the additional strength and protection that her power offered. Given ten minutes to recharge, she could return to her draconic form, yet in the intervening time, she was just as vulnerable as any regular passerby.

  
In designing her suit, Ruby had to account for the needs of both forms while still staying true to her sister’s character and ‘unique charms’ as Yang liked to call it. Without doubt a difficult task, yet one the young technician was more than willing to meet.

  
From what Blake’s training had emphasized, Dragon’s role in the team was to hit hard and hit fast, before finding some safe area where she could recharge. To that end, her suit didn’t require the same amount of pure defense that the others did, only enough to keep itself together during the initial attack and retain enough structural integrity to cover her during a quick retreat.

  
Ruby’s solution to the dual tenets of self-reliant protection and Yang’s own sense of aesthetics was as simple as it was elegant. Biker fashion.

  
Made out of a custom designed brown leather, the boots were done in a moto style, reaching well above the ankle while having both a lace-up tongue and a series of harness straps to make sure that there was no slipping, even in hectic circumstances. Of course, the most obvious problem that posed, was how to make sure they remained snug to her feet in both forms. To combat this, the boots had a thick, yet cushy inner lining which could expand while Dragon’s power was inactive yet retain enough room for scales to grow during her transformation. Additionally, the laces were kept intentionally loose in some areas, depending on the buckles to stay in place, which naturally had more give to them and could be exploited to accommodate the added mass of the scales. Rubber soles with deep, patterned treads gave Dragon enough traction and comfort to remain stable in combat, while padded, steel toes made sure each kick was as devastating to an enemy as possible.

  
Instead of manufacturing pants and a top piece from scratch, both were taken from pre-existing items while still being given a personal touch. Between her power and reckless style of fighting, any suit made for Dragon would have to account for frequent and excessive wear and tear on the material. No matter how hardy the suit was, parts would need to be replaced or patched constantly, and making a new suit from scratch every time a seam busted was simply not feasible. Accordingly, Ruby simply purchased items off the rack and made some modest alterations. For pants, she chose a pair made from high grade cotton duck fabric. Originally intended for craftspeople working with heavy machinery, such as carpenters or welders, it was perfect for providing basic protection while remaining light and loose enough not to impede movement. It also came in black and with multiple pockets, which kept modifications to a minimum. In fact, Ruby’s only alteration was in the waist, adding a good amount of elastic to account for Dragon’s changing form.

  
For a top piece, Ruby chose to go for that most sacred of rebel garments, the quintessential ‘there’s something that needs doing, and I’m a bad enough motherfucker to do it’ look: the black leather jacket. Durable against wind, water, and the cold, resistant to fire, and sturdy enough to turn away a slash from a bladed weapon and looking damn fine while doing it. Its James Dean in armor, all rebel spirit and rock n’ roll. In fact, the only real problem with using leather as a defensive tool, is that any kind of thrusting motion can get through it with extreme ease. To combat this, an inner lining of silk was added, which tends to have the opposite difficulty as leather, easy to cut, but hard to puncture. As for the specific jacket, Ruby’s choice was built largely around fit and making sure it was comfortable for Dragon to wear and get around in, not an easy prospect as the best time to wear a leather jacket is ten years after it was purchased, the material itself having quite a long ‘breaking-in’ phase. Additionally, the jacket had to fully cover the tattoos that spiraled up and down Yang’s arms as such a distinguishing mark would ruin the entire point of having an alternate identity.

  
As for the mask, Ruby designed it to meld seamlessly with Yang’s draconic form; layers of carbon fiber were painted gold, all with enough overlapping texture to mimic the shape of scales, providing both a striking look when juxtaposed with regular human skin, while blending in almost entirely with more dragon-like features. Aside from this, additions were made to the rest of the suit to make sure Dragon’s own aesthetics and personality were incorporated in the overall design. Across the back of the jacket, a stylized heart ablaze with golden fire was added, fake drip marks rounding out the symbol, ostensibly making it appear to have been done with spray paint and a stencil. With similar flourish, two words were added on the outside of the jacket sleeves, ‘Ember’ on the right and ‘Celica’ on the left. Their placement was specifically done so that when Dragon placed the knuckles of both fists together, the suit’s full name could be read: ‘Ember Celica’, the arms of righteous and heavenly fire.

  
Over the preceding months, so many corrections and improvements had been added to Blake’s suit, Gambol Shroud, that Ruby’s notes now referred to the current version as the Mark Two. Although much of the core design, as well as the built-in offensive capabilities remained the same, many of the subtler, more passive features had seen dramatic changes. Several heavily armored areas had been stripped down to decrease weight or to give more freedom of movement to previously restricted joints. The soles of the feet had been made even thinner, allowing Sable more tactile control over two of her powers, silence of movement and her short range dash-teleport. In order to more effectively use that dash in combat, the armor on the right side of her collarbone had been increased allowing her to perform a devastating shoulder charge at lightning speed, with her own body remaining protected. This also gave the suit a unique, asymmetrical look, which Ruby embraced in a number of different design alterations which gave the suit a scrappier, more lived in appearance than the clean lines of the original.

  
There were, however, a number of features which did remain the same; her gray flower symbol still stood proudly on her shoulder, and the two launchers that adorned either wrist had both become indelible fixtures of her skillset. Built into the gauntlet of her left arm was an unmodified L3-X400, an unrifled firearm built specifically for powered individuals by Bolero, one of the greatest technicians alive. Stored inside the armor of the forearm, and at the press of a button, it could click into place and be ready to fire its payload of nonlethal ammunition. It wasn’t particularly accurate or deadly, but at close range and with a steady hand, it could deliver serious pain to wherever its user wanted it to be. On the right arm was a similarly hidden device, this one a launcher originally intended for firing grappling hooks, but which Ruby had repurposed to use a kind of ribbon which could curl back onto itself on demand and then quickly retract towards the gauntlet. It was specifically designed to be multi-purpose in a way a traditional firearm never could, being as capable of simple traversal as it was for combat.

  
As the last of Crescent Rose’s systems came online, Ruby gave the rest of the team their green light, each mentally going over the plan of attack one last time. Less than an hour before, a supervillain had entered a garbage incineration plant near the edge of the industrial district, taking the workers hostage and demanding millions in exchange for their lives. The FBR had given its approval to the team, and they had hit the ground running in order to get there as fast as they could.

  
“Thorn,” Sable said over the radio. “What information did the bureau send on this guy?”

  
“Well…” she replied, scrolling through the document she had pulled on their target. “Name is Animal, no legal identifier is known. Classification: trickster. Known powers include…an ability to sense any living thing within a certain radius regardless of his other five senses…an extreme aptitude for knives which is apparently good enough to be listed as a power…and the ability to harden anything he physically comes in contact with. Extended contact just makes the thing more and more difficult to break, but as soon as he drops it, the thing goes back to normal. On his rap sheet it says he’s wanted for…” she whistled, “a lot.”

  
“Ok, so nothing new, but good to keep in mind. We stick to the plan, the hostages are our top priority,” Sable said to the others, who nodded their assent.

  
Back in their apartment, Ruby felt the familiar pit in her stomach forming as she knew that once again, the rest of her team was heading into danger. “Just be careful in there alright?” she asked quietly.  
“I promise, love,” Blake replied, smiling into her mask.

  
With one final breath of calm, the three heroes readied themselves, and jumped into the unknown.

* * *

Deep within the plant and on the top floor, the hostages were tied and gagged in a manager’s office in the very pinnacle of the building. Within the same room was a strange, shadow of a man, gaunt but muscular, with skin pulled too tight over the sinew below. He stalked up and down the length of the room, muttering incoherently to himself, a predatory grin splitting his pale face.

  
Outside, Sable and her team had concluded that the only logical way in was through the ceiling, any other direction and the villain would only have more warning before their attack. Their entrance strategy was as effective as it was simple: Yang.

  
In a cloud of dust and exploding concrete, Dragon’s golden silhouette came crashing through the exterior of the building, opening a hole for her two compatriots to dive through behind her. Step two was to separate the hostages from the fight that was about to unfold, a task given to Frost, who began her work immediately. Drawing on the latent moisture in the air as well as the various water containers strewn about her person, she raised a wall of ice in front of the dozen or so workers huddled in a corner of the office, each cowering away from the shock of the heroes’ explosive entrance.

  
As her slight figure disappeared behind the rapidly forming ice, Dragon and Sable turned to face their opponent, a man of above average height yet hunched as if coiling his body for a sudden pounce, greasy black hair and limbs that seemed too long for his frame only adding to his inhuman, almost preternatural presence. As the dust began to dissipate, they got a clearer look at him, the smile adorning his face as genuine as it was unsettling. For clothing, he wore camo pants and black combat boots. From the waist up he was bare, save for a bandolier slung over one shoulder filled with knives of varying lengths, and a single, black tattoo of his own name, Animal, writ bold across his chest.

  
Not wanting to prolong the inevitable fight any further, Dragon charged him, eyes red with rage and pure, unchecked power. As she did so, Sable took the opportunity to slip into the shadows, hoping to slide unnoticed behind their enemy.

  
With almost contemptuous skill, Animal flipped over Dragon’s charging form, landing square on his feet before lazily pulling a long, serrated knife from its sheath. Catching Dragon’s eye, he grinned again and spoke in a slow, heavy drawl.

  
“Oh Goliath, I am but a small man. Won’t you please take it easy on ol’ David?”

  
Roaring her wordless reply, Dragon charged once again, though with her head higher this time. If the villain chose the same strategy he had a moment before and attempted to vault over her, she could simply angle herself slightly and hop, her long, sharpened horns potentially goring his unprotected flank.

  
Instead, Animal chose a lower path, sliding his lithe body down and to the side, angling his knife under Dragon’s arm, yet came away with nothing to show for it, his steel sliding off the toughened leather of her suit.

  
By that point, Sable had managed to slip out of focus of both combatants. Raising her left arm, she took careful aim and connected the thumb and first finger of her hand, effectively pulling the trigger on the firearm built into her gauntlet. Yet she had apparently misjudged the villain’s awareness of his surroundings, for a split second before, Animal had grabbed at a stack of papers on a nearby desk and threw them into the air between himself and the black clad hero, his hand glowing with a strange light.

  
In any other situation, a fifteen gram rubber bullet flying at a speed of over two hundred feet per second would shred a piece of paper as easily as passing through the air around it, but Animal’s power had strengthened them to such a degree that the bullet simply bounced off, careening wildly from the mid-air collision.

  
With dust still filling the room, and paper lazily floating to the floor, Dragon and Sable regrouped.

  
“Fuck, he’s fast,” Dragon muttered to herself.

  
Without taking her eyes of her opponent, Sable spoke into her radio. “Any ideas, Thorn?”

  
Ruby’s answer was quick and concise. “He can sense where you are in the room, so sneaking is out of the question, and it looks like trying to attack from a distance won’t work either. Attack him from two different angles at the same time, he can’t defend from every direction at once. Best make it fast too, you’ve only got thirty seconds of power left, Dragon.”

  
“Got it.”

  
With Frost still working on getting the hostages to safety, Dragon and Sable circled around the villain.

  
For his part, Animal, merely chuckled at them, adding “I can’t tell you how glad I am that company decided to drop on by. Such a shame to be stuck here all alone on such a lovely-”  
Without giving him time to finish his sentence, Dragon charged his position once again as Sable released a shadow clone beside her, leaping across a nearby desk in the direction of her opponent.  
In a single, fluid motion, Animal deftly sidestepped Dragon’s attack, sliding a shorter knife from its sheath and throwing it directly into the shadow clone, causing it to disappear.

  
Dancing backwards and away from the two heroes’ positions, the bare-chested villain pulled loose another knife, sending it flying through the air with languid grace. As it moved, the knife’s path curved and bent in impossible ways, eventually finding its destination in the top of a fire extinguisher tucked into a corner of the room.

  
The resulting reaction was immediate and explosive. A nearby desk, one of two in the room, made from planks of weighty hardwood, went sailing through the air and directly into Sable, pinning her leg against the wall behind her. She made a valiant effort to pull herself from underneath its bulk, but it was not to be. She was pinned, and Animal turned to face his only standing opponent.

  
“Bullseye,” he drawled.

  
With pure rage and adrenaline running through her veins, Dragon picked up the other hundred-pound wooden desk in the room and flung it at him, pens and staplers crashing to the ground in its wake. Like a dancer, the villain rolled underneath it, diving forwards with knife drawn, grin only growing more manic as the distance between himself and the golden hero rapidly shrank.

  
His first strike struck scales, his second and third the protective material of the suit. Yet with every swipe Dragon’s internal timer drew closer and closer to its end, her wild punches growing increasingly desperate as she felt the clock ticking forwards.

  
“How much time do I have?” she grunted into her radio.

  
“Twelve seconds, you need to get out now!” Thorn replied, fear for her sister clearly evident in her voice.

  
“Ha! Not quite yet!”

  
With renewed confidence, Dragon feinted left and struck right, putting the entirety of her considerable strength behind the blow. It caught Animal square in the chest, sending his body flying.

  
As the battered villain began the painful process of peeling himself off the dust-covered floor, Dragon could feel the first signs of her human form coming to the front. Golden scales slid back underneath the vulnerable skin below, horns began to curl inwards, and every muscle in the young hero’s body was flooded with a strange, immediate soreness as the pent-up lactic acid filled her limbs. She knew it was time to make her exit, but Blake was still trapped underneath the heavy desk. When she looked in her direction, Sable frantically shook her head, whispering “No! Get out!” into her earpiece.

  
It was against her nature to run from a fight like this, and even more perverse to leave a friend stranded. But in a few short seconds, she would be horribly, painfully vulnerable and trying to face off against a supervillain alone and without powers was nothing more than a stupid way to die.

  
However, when she turned to the exit door for the office, she found it still blocked with Frost’s wall of ice. Without the increased strength that her power afforded her, she would never be able to get through it. She began to feel her first twinges of fear but wait…the roof! She had made more than a sizable hole in the ceiling during their entrance and she still felt enough strength in her legs to make a leap to the outside. She turned towards the spot they had landed, ready to make a running jump, but directly below her escape stood Animal, a long, wicked knife in his hand and that terrible grin splitting his face in two.

  
With the last of her scales disappearing from view and with no way out of the office, Dragon began to truly feel her helplessness, a real panic starting to set in.

  
Back in their apartment, Thorn was on her feet, watching the bodycam footage from her sister’s suit with horror, practically screaming at Frost to take down her wall of ice, but she was still trying to get the hostages out of the building. There was no way she would make it all the way back to the top office in time.

  
With a step and then two, the villain slouched towards Yang who now had her back fully pressed up against the cold, unyielding ice behind her. Animal looked as if he could smell her fear, a second knife appearing in his other hand as he pressed his advantage. “So sorry, darling, but it looks like the hunter must have his day…”

  
Without warning, Sable’s dark figure appeared on the edge of Dragon’s vision, her heavily armored shoulder driving into the villain’s side like a sledgehammer. Having used her dash from halfway across the room, her body was moving at a speed too fast for the eye to catch, and as it made contact with Animal’s flank, his own body crumpled, producing a sickening crunch as he rolled to a stop in the corner of the room.

  
Before he could stumble back to his feet, she was on him, knocking the knives from his hands and delivering a flurry of blows to his head, chest, and side, both places he had been hurt and then directly into that awful smile.

* * *

Outside the building, the various teams of first responders swarmed and jumbled, going about the necessary tasks that always followed these kinds of attacks. The medical teams were busy handing out shock blankets to the recently freed hostages, looking them over for any hidden wounds or abnormal vital signs while the gathered police force made sure to give congratulations to the three heroes who had saved them. At the edge of it all, a small group of agents from the FBR were going about the work of restraining Animal, the cause of all the pain and fear of the past few hours, prepping him for transport to the temporary holding facility he would be housed at until his court date.

  
Around all the commotion a temporary boundary had been set up, and just outside it, the flash of cameras and the murmur of reporters spoke to the growing number of press members covering the attack. With a grin and a theatrical wave of her arm, Dragon happily posed for the cameras, her earlier terror completely forgotten as she basked in the adulation of assorted journalists, though making sure to only do so from a distance. It wouldn’t be much of a happy ending if her identity was discovered so soon after making her new one. Frost’s response was much more subdued, but even she couldn’t help a smile from creeping across her face at all the positive attention directed her way.

  
Unlike the two newest members of her team, Sable had had enough encounters with the media for the whole spectacle to have lost its luster. Instead, she stood next to her foe, watching his battered body secured into place in the specially made paddy wagon the bureau used for transporting powered individuals.

  
“You must hate how much they adore the people who stopped you,” she said.

  
Despite how obviously painful it was to speak with his broken ribs, Animal couldn’t keep the amusement from creeping into his voice. “Oh, much the opposite, quiet girl. In fact, I share their admiration. Ever since Eden was lost, mankind has needed its heroes.” He barked a laugh into the open air before turning his head to the one of the agents securing his hands into their restraints, his drawl as self-satisfied as ever. “Take me away officer, for punished I do deserve.”

  
The lead agent gave a respectful nod to Sable before hopping into the front of the vehicle, driving out of the industrial district and towards downtown.

  
As she watched the white truck disappear down a side street, she felt seized by the strange notion that despite all evidence to the contrary, the celebration of their victory was far too premature.


End file.
